The Family Adventure Guide - Issue 43 -2025 - Magazine - Page 11
ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER
CROSBY OBSERVATORY
The Orlando Science Center’s planetarium offers an
immersive voyage through space using cutting-edge
projection and storytelling. Visitors explore constellations,
planets, and cosmic phenomena in a dome theater that
transforms astronomy into a dazzling experience. Paired
with the Crosby Observatory’s powerful telescope, the
center invites curious minds to stargaze, learn, and marvel
at the wonders of the universe.
777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803
CALUSA NATURE CENTER &
PLANETARIUM
Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium in Fort Myers
offers a unique blend of science and nature across
105 acres. Visitors enjoy immersive planetarium
shows, animal encounters, butterfly gardens, and
wooded trails. Home to rescued wildlife and
Florida’s only public large-dome planetarium, it’s a
hands-on destination for families, homeschoolers,
and anyone curious about astronomy and ecology.
3450 Ortiz Ave, Fort Myers, FL 33905
THE BIRTH OF THE PLANETARIUM PROJECTOR
The invention of the planetarium projector revolutionized how humans experience the cosmos indoors. It all began in the early 20th
century when Oskar von Miller, founder of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, envisioned a device that could project a realistic night sky
onto a dome. He approached the Carl Zeiss company in Jena, Germany, and after initial hesitation, they accepted the challenge. Under the
leadership of engineer Walther Bauersfeld, the first opto-mechanical planetarium projector was developed between 1923 and 1925. This
groundbreaking device, known as the Zeiss Model I, debuted to the public in May 1925 and stunned audiences with its ability to simulate
the daily and annual motions of celestial bodies. The projector was a complex assembly of smaller projectors and gears, capable of
displaying stars, planets, and the moon with remarkable accuracy. It marked a dramatic shift from earlier mechanical models like orreries,
offering an immersive, Earth-based perspective of the universe. The success of the Zeiss projector inspired a wave of innovation, leading
to increasingly sophisticated systems that now include digital projections, laser shows, and real-time astronomical data. Today’s
planetariums owe their immersive magic to this pioneering invention, which brought the stars within reach of anyone willing to look up
indoors.
THE FAMILY ADVENTURE GUIDE- FLORIDA EDITION
10 | 2025 Issue 43
